Drone Roof & Building Inspections

Drone Roof & Building Inspections image
Dynamic Picture Studios is now providing roof and building inspections.  Our goal is to provide services that solve problems in our industry.  We work with solar installers, roofers, homeowners, home inspectors and building owners to help them reduce risks to their staff and overall reduce their costs to get the information that they need.  


Why use Dynamic Picture Studios to take care of your drone needs?
We are licensed and insured. We hold a Part 107 Commercial license with the FAA and we know how to operate our drone (s) safely and legally. In addition, we are licensed to operate drones within the entire nation.


Why use drones for roof inspections?
Going up the home of your own roof may sound like such a simple thing that using a drone doesn’t seem necessary, but things are different when doing a roof inspection is part of your job. Depending on what line of work you’re in, you might have to do dozens of roof inspections in a single day. Not only do you put human life at risk whenever you inspect a roof the old-fashioned way, but it’s also very time-consuming.

What are 5 Key reasons that roof inspections are a must:

  1. To assess the value of real estate –Real estate agents have to look at the conditions of a property before they can estimate a fair selling price. This includes the interiors, the surrounding neighborhood, and yes – the roof.
  2. To estimate roof repair costs - For professional roof repair services, having to physically climb up a roof is not a problem. However, the risk and effort might not be worth it if they are still in the phase of negotiating prices with the clients.
  3. To confirm insurance claims - When a natural disaster happens, like a tornado or a typhoon, the roof of a home takes the brunt of the punishment. For this reason, homeowners will typically make insurance claims on the roof damage.
  4. To prepare for solar panel installation – Companies that offer solar panel installation services need to do a detailed roof inspection before they step in so that they’ll know what tools and equipment to prepare.
  5. As part of home maintenance - Even in the absence of a natural disaster, regular homeowners would still benefit from doing regular roof inspections. There’s no telling how regular wear and tear can slowly cause your roof to deteriorate if you don’t inspect it regularly.

Why would you consider using drones instead of doing it the traditional way?

  1. Safer - The number one reason to use a drone is that it no longer makes it necessary to put human lives in peril to do a roof inspection. Surveys have shown that a huge majority of injuries and deaths suffered in the roof inspection industry happens because of falls (no surprise there). By using drones instead, roof inspectors can reduce the risk to human life to virtually zero.                                                                                                      
  2. More efficient - If you were an insurance adjuster who had to visit ten homes in a single day and inspect each roof manually, then you might not even enough time. Aside from the time and effort spent to climb a roof, you will have to make lots of manual measurements and snap several photos – all with the tentativeness of someone walking in a high-altitude, possibly damaged, roof. According to roof inspection companies, using a drone allows them to finish jobs three times faster than if they did them using traditional methods. This capability also lets them offer more premium services because they can commit to shorter turnover times and more detailed roof inspections reports.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
  3.  Can inspect inaccessible areas - Another disadvantage of walking around on top of a roof while taking measurements is that there are simply areas that cannot be accessed by people. Whether it’s an overhanging feature or a small, recessed section, drones are more equipped to get up close and personal with these inaccessible areas. If you’ve been having your roof inspected the old-fashioned way for years, then these areas might have been neglected for the longest time.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       
  4. Less equipment and manpower needed - A professional roof inspection crew will come with a van full of ladders, cameras, ropes, harnesses, and measuring tapes to do a detailed inspection job. A drone-based roof inspector will arrive on-site with just the drone – nothing else. Doing a roof inspection using a drone is logistically simpler. In turn, it is also faster and cheaper. Even an ultra-portable drone that fits in a small backpack can do a roof inspection job according to professional standards.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             
  5. Can create 3D models - The level of sophistication of modern drone technology is also one of the advantages of using a drone for roof inspection. Camera drones aren’t just for capturing high-definition photographs of the condition of your roof, but the aerial photos can also be combined to create a 3D model. This is done through a method called photogrammetry – a technique of 3D modelling that uses multiple photos of a single object. The benefit of being able to create a 3D model from a roof is that you can virtually revisit the site anytime. You can also take length, area, and volume measurements from the 3D model. With a 3D model, there’s no detail on the inspection job that you can miss, as you can simply review the model anytime.                                                                                                                                                                                         
  6. Automated process and cloud-based data - Drone-based aerial surveys are done via specially designed mobile apps that can automate almost the entire process. This leaves no room for human error and ensures that the drone captures shots from all the essential angles. Moreover, all the shots can be automatically synced to a cloud server where they can be processed quickly to create 3D models or downloaded to a remote workstation. This is a great way to streamline post-processing so you can deliver results faster.